<noun.attribute> he had to overcome his inertia and get back to work
(physics) the tendency of a body to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force
<noun.phenomenon>
Inertia \In*er"ti*a\, n. [L., idleness, fr. iners idle. See {Inert}.] 1. (Physics) That property of matter by which it tends when at rest to remain so, and when in motion to continue in motion, and in the same straight line or direction, unless acted on by some external force; -- sometimes called {vis inerti[ae]}. The inertia of a body is proportional to its mass. [1913 Webster +PJC]
2. Inertness; indisposition to motion, exertion, or action; lack of energy; sluggishness.
Men . . . have immense irresolution and inertia. --Carlyle.
3. (Med.) Lack of activity; sluggishness; -- said especially of the uterus, when, in labor, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.
{Center of inertia}. (Mech.) See under {Center}.
Moreover, 6,000-7,000 nationals join the labour market every year. But the government's inertia is not the only problem.
'One of the characteristics of this market is inertia,' comments Mr Clegg.
Also contributing to the inertia is the failure by the government to present a coherent overall plan.
Even after 15 years in the wilderness, the forces of inertia run deep.
Hungary's economic reforms preceded those being implemented by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev by more than two decades, but recently they have been hampered by bureaucratic inertia.
Gorbachev, who also serves as the party's general secretary, said "the inertia of old thinking" is a "real danger to the party" if it hopes to regain the confidence of the people.
Otherwise, it's sickening." The 84-year-old Garbo, who has an apartment in Manhattan, says she suffers from inertia.
Prominent international human rights groups have issued reports condemning official inertia.
Beware of inertia selling.
They would always promise in the past but never did this." More than bureaucratic inertia has been overcome with the choice of this movie.
"They were shown the Tokamak experimental thermonuclear installation and the Angara-5 experimental thermonuclear inertia installation.
The simpler certainties of the Reagan era and the policy inertia of the Bush years have been replaced by activist, reforming, big government.
Bayreuth's new "Ring" cycle by East German director Harry Kupfer has its shortcomings, but inertia isn't among them.
But the main reason is simple inertia.
'There is a great deal of inertia out there,' claims Mr Ginn.
Necessary because changing the culture of the civil service requires permanent revolution to overcome the inertia inherent in an organisation of such a scale. Much has already been achieved, though the effects can often take years to be felt.
This has assured Chileans that inflation will not erode their savings, although it has also increased inflationary inertia.
Designed to open up Argentina's empty expanses and revamp a bloated public administration, it has been blocked by inertia and lack of funds.
Central to that revolution has been the tearing down of national going rates for workers, and complex grading systems for managers that rewarded inertia and length of service as much as performance.
Here, Rule Number Three applies: When a repressive regime sets in motion a program of reform after a long period of inertia, as between intended and unintended consequences, bet on the latter.
Fred C. Ikle Washington "Stagnant" and suffering from an "epidemic of inertia" is how your Aug. 1 page-one piece ("Treading Water") sees the West German economy.
"Our military thought is still partially constrained by inertia, routine and a lack of competition of ideas and opinions," he wrote.
Gerald Ford, no Nixon, simply went with the flow of party inertia, while Ronald Reagan said everything that had to be said about his position by opposing every civil-rights proposal that came along for virtually all of his public life.
The creeping inertia by directors in terms of their dealings has led us to check back to the same time last year.
Wages are still rising at twice that rate. Comparison with Germany forces home the extent of industry's inertia.
Failure to understand the political inertia of the man with the hoe can lead to suicidal miscalculations, as we demonstrated with the Bay of Pigs invasion.
'They are relying on customer inertia and will charge as much as they can get away with,' she said.
Although the initiative had board approval and is backed by senior management headed by Derek Wanless, a deputy group chief executive, institutional inertia and cynicism could still blunt its impact.
In a special four page pull-out FT writers assess the prospects IN SIX short months, the European Community has come down off its Maastricht high, and is sunk in a slough of self-doubt and inertia.
But it could also encourage inertia. Finally, there is the question of how quickly NatWest Life will start contributing to profits.